Improvement in picture-hooks



R. S. MERRILL; PICTURE-HOOKS.

No. 194,707. Patented Aug. 29,1871,

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N.PETERS. FHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON D10,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RUFUS S. MERRILL, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN PICTURE-HOOKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 194,707, dated August 28, 1877; application filed July 13, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that, I, RUFUS S. MERRILL, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Picture-Hooks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,-Which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to picture-hooks which are designed to engage and be movable on a horizontal rail or molding placed, like a cornice, on the wall of a room near the ceiling.

Heretofore, so far as my knowledge extends, such hooks have been made of cast metal, usually cast-brass, and have been narrow or of little width. This construction is open to serious objection. ln the first place, the hook is expensive to make; and, secondly, it takes a bearing at one point only on the rail or cornice, thus concentrating all the strain of the weight which it sustains upon one spot on the rail, resulting at times in injury to the rail.

My invention is designed to remedy these defects. To this end I form the hook at that end which engages the cornice. with widespread diverging hook-arm each of which takes a bearing on the cornice or rail, thus serving to distribute the weight and strain over a considerable part of the rail instead of concentrating it at one spot alone. This feature is of value, and is applicable to a hook made either of cast or wrought metal. But, in order toreduoethe expense of manufacture, I make thehook of wire, bending it by means of suitable dies, or' other machinery, to the proper form.

A hook so made is shown in the accompanying drawing, which represents, in perspective, on an enlarged scale, a picture-hook made in the preferred form, embodying my invention. It is composed, as shown, of a simple piece of wire, which is bent in the middle, so as to form at the loop a hook, at, of two thicknesses of Wire, which is designed to receive the picture cord or wire. The ends of the hook-wire are carried up divergently, and are bent to the rear, so as to form each a hook, b c, occupying a position the reverse of that occupied by a, and designed to catch over the rail or moldingA. (Indicated by dotted lines.) Thus, at the rail end, the hook has a-wide and extended hearing, which distributes the weight over a considerable part of the rail.

It is manifest that the hook thus made possesses many advantages in use over the hook heretofore made, while it is at the same time very much cheaper than the latter. The same form of hook, however, can be made of cast metal, although, for the reasons already given, I much prefer to make it of wire.

The wire hook can be bronzed or silver or nickel plated, if desired, and may be made of any kind of wrought metal.

Having described my invention, what I claim,

and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- l. A picture-hook formed at the rail or cornice end with two or more divergent or spreadapart hook-arms, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A picture-hook consisting of Wire bent so as to form at the one end a hook for the picture-cord, and at the other end two or more divergent hook-arms for engaging and taking an extended bearing on the rail or molding, as set forth.

In testimony that 1 claim the foregoing as my own I hereunto aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RUFUS S. MERRILL. Witnesses:

GHAs. H. OoMPToN, ARTHUR R. SWAN. 

